Posted
by
Soulskillon Sunday April 20, 2008 @01:24PM
from the get-a-NDA-for-your-DNA dept.

Bibek Paudel point us to a BusinessWeek report on Google's interest in the cataloging and analyzing of people's DNA. Google has recently invested in DNA screening firms Navigenics and 23andMe, which test customers' DNA for characteristics such as ancestry and predisposition for certain diseases. The customers are then able to give the information to their doctors. This is not Google's first foray into the medical industry.
"Google wants to plant an early stake in a potentially large new market around genetic data. 'We are interested in supporting companies and making investments in companies that [bolster] our mission statement, which is organizing the world's information and making it universally accessible and useful,' Google spokesman Andrew Pederson says. 'We felt it was important to get involved now, at the early stage, to better understand the information generated by this fast-moving field.'"

This has to be the most awesome thing Google has done. Now, when Google has DNA from both your parents, they'll send you a free email alert in your GMail inbox, a day before you are expected to get a heart attack.